Cash register management: the routine that avoids surprises

Why tills almost always go wrong for the same reasons

A till is a cash account like any other. It has to be justifiable at any moment, receipt by receipt, including for movements that are not sales.

The trouble rarely comes from fraud. It comes from small unrecorded gestures: an emergency purchase paid from the drawer, a tip added in, a refund handed over directly.

• Cash taken out without a supporting document is the leading cause of differences.
• Mixing business cash with personal money makes any reconstruction impossible.
• Cancellations typed in after the fact, with no reason given, draw attention during an inspection.

Opening the day cleanly

The float has to be identical every morning. That fixed amount is what makes the evening difference readable, with no complicated maths.

• Count the float and write it down before the first sale.
• Check that the payment terminal is open on the right accounting day.
• Make sure the prices and VAT rates you changed the day before are correct.

The daily closing, step by step

Closing takes five minutes when it is done every day, and half a day when it is put off until the end of the month.

• Pull the day's report: total sales, breakdown by VAT rate, detail by payment method.
• Count the cash, subtract the float and compare it with the cash total on the report.
• Match the card payment total against the terminal's settlement.
• Justify every cash withdrawal with its document, then file the day's receipts with the report.
• Note any difference, even if it is a few cents.

What to do with cash differences

A difference is not a problem in itself, a hidden difference becomes one. The goal is not to hit zero every evening but to be able to explain the variations.

• Record the difference the same day, with its likely cause if you know it.
• Look at whether it repeats at the same time of day or with the same person at the till.
• Check the change given on large notes, a classic source of error.
• Review the cancelled sales and refunds of the day.

The registered cash system in hospitality

In hospitality, a business whose annual turnover from meals consumed on the premises exceeds 25 000 euro excluding VAT has to use a certified registered cash system and issue a receipt for every transaction.

That system records transactions in a way that cannot be altered. The receipt handed to the customer carries control data specific to the business, and corrections stay traceable.

• The receipt has to be issued at the moment of the transaction, not at the end of service.
• Staff meals and complimentary items are recorded too, with the appropriate reason.
• Staff working hours are checked alongside the declared turnover.

What Novadesko automates at the till

The idea is simple: what happens at the counter should reach your figures without being retyped.

• Every payment updates the stock, item by item.
• The breakdown by VAT rate is calculated continuously, ready for the return.
• The daily closing produces a full report, with the detail by payment method.
• Till sales and customer invoices feed the same cash flow dashboard.

Frequently asked questions